As a poker player it’s my job to make decisions about a situation based upon incomplete information, much of which comes from whatever “story” someone is telling me through non-verbal communication.

I’m usually not listening to what is coming out of someone’s mouth, instead I am looking to see what their body is telling me through physical tells. When watching the interview with Lance my first impression is of his nervousness and tension.

Of course he’s understandably apprehensive about the interview. His posture is fixed; he’s visibly tensed through his shoulders and core and barely shifts from that throughout the entire interview. His fingers are usually tightly interlaced, a method of controlling oneself.

At the poker table it’s important to observe people both during but also before and after a high pressure situation. Are they tensed and anxious throughout, or only during the hands themselves? Most tellingly, do they only show signs of nervousness during some hands?

With Lance, there are some questions where he shows significantly more discomfort and tension than others.

Most notably is when Oprah asks whether he pressured his teammates into doping and then references his team mate Christian Vande Velde’s statement of Lance threatening him. Lance pauses to think and then voraciously denies the accusation. He also shows a possible sign of contempt with a split-second lip pursing, and also struggles to maintain eye-contact just after his denial. Oftentimes in poker, the face tries to portray one feeling but short, instinctual movements known as micro-expressions can reveal their true emotions.

My opinion is that Lance, whilst admitting some incredibly hard and damaging truths after years of ingrained lying, has not given Oprah or the public an entirely open or complete set of answers. He’s clearly prepped himself for the most difficult questions and is giving carefully crafted and highly controlled messages.

When someone is bluffing with chips, their actions are often stilted and visibly precise, with a notable pause to think before they are carried out. Look for his responses that don’t appear to flow naturally; these are the ones that should require further examination.

Professor Andy Lane, sport psychologist at the University of Wolverhampton

In Lance’s interview, he described a “win at all costs” attitude that drove his actions. He offered up how this attitude sat at the front of his mindset as he battled cancer; and in such a battle, the idea that if you took a certain substance, and it increased your chances of survival, then it is worth taking.

He hinted at the idea that winning the Tour de France replaced beating cancer, and as such, the mindset that anything goes, including taking performance-enhancing drugs became a decision to make in preparing and performing on the tour.

Lance’s comments are consistent with testimonies of others riders who took performance-enhancing drugs. Looking at these comments help unravel some of the reasons why they made the decision initially. If we look at Tyler Hamilton’s recent book, he describes riding clean as being called riding on “bread and water”, a language that denigrates riding clean and suggests that riding clean gives you little chance of success.

Lance talked openly about drug taking. He offered insight into how this occurred, and supported testimonies by Tyler Hamilton of private jets to hospitals to have blood transfusions, and complex storage systems, although was cautious not to get into specific details. How Lance managed his testimony is interesting.

He tended to talk about himself in the third person and this perspective allowed him to say that his 2005 self is somehow different to his 2013 self as though it is a different person. Perspective taking is a useful technique for reflection.

Speaking about yourself in the first person taking drugs is likely to bring about feelings of guilt and shame. Perspective taking allows you to that “that guy was bad, but I am a different person now”. His performance was confident and his answers articulate. He looked nervous at times, crossing his legs, touching his face, only to uncross and open his arms at other times.

The interview used clips of Lance denying drug usage in previous interviews; interviews that also were delivered convincingly and so inferences from his body language are difficult. Lance called himself a fighter, and like a fighter in the face-off for a world championship contest, he seemed to display the emotions he thought useful and try to hide emotions that might be unhelpful.

Prof Lane has worked with numerous athletes including world and Olympic champions. He is currently leading a project with the BBC called “can you compete under pressure?”